Third Life
by xAddictedToWordsx
Summary: In episode 3x12, Reid sees an Unsub shot down in front of him. How does he cope with witnessing the shooting when the team return home? A behind-the-scenes look at the shooting of the Unsub in 'Third Life'. (MorganxReid) - rated T for description of a body.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. Any characters or related settings are not mine and belong to CBS and Jeff Davis unless otherwise stated. **

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Spencer Reid crept down the corridor, gun drawn and by his side as he listened for any sign of Jack Vaughan. As he approached a set of doors, he heard a girl's shrieking coming from inside.

"Kill him! Kill him, daddy!"

Opening the door and swinging around the corner, he came face to face with the man standing over a cowering Ryan Phillips, his daughter Lindsey at his side, staring down the barrel of his gun as he prepared to end the young man's life. He leveled his gun with Jack, lining up his shout as he shouted.

"Put the gun down!"

Ryan turned at the sound of his voice, a look of desperation and anxious hope on his face as he reached out towards Spencer, a hand extending towards him even as he screwed up his eyes in pain and fear.

"Help me please, please help me!"

Lindsey turned to glance towards Spencer, as if knowing that her chances of avenging her friend were slipping away with the agent's appearance.

"Jack, put down the gun."

Lindsey turned back at her father, her voice starting off small but growing in desperation and volume as she went on, her body bending forward with her efforts to get the words out as quickly as she could.

"She begged him to stop, he laughed at her. He laughed at her!"

The young man on the ground pushed himself back as far as he could, one hand coming up as if he could stop a bullet with his palm, the hopeful look on his face falling into despair as he stared up at the girl's father behind the barrel of the gun.

"I didn't laugh at her, honestly. I would change this if I could, but I can't. Just don't kill me"

Spencer saw the cold look on the older man's face, and knew that if he didn't try _something_ then another young person was going to lose their life, and Unsub or not, enough young lives had been lost already in the case, and Spencer didn't want to see another one added to the list of casualties. He searched his mind frantically for something to coax the man away with.

"Jack, _Jack_, you swore to your wife that you'd protect Lindsey. Listen to her, Jack. Listen to what she wants; she's- she's begging you to _kill_ somebody right in front of her. What do you think your wife wanted you to protect her from?" Spencer saw the way Lindsey looked back at him, saw the cold look of her father reflected upon her face, and he knew then that she didn't care that she was trying to take another's life through her father. She didn't care that nobody should see someone die before their eyes. She _wanted_ Ryan dead, and she didn't care if it was her father that killed him. Just so long as he was gone.

In a last attempt, he tried to change his tactics minutely, attempting to appeal to the father that wanted to protect his daughter from the horror of death, rather than the father who wanted to avenge his daughter's suffering with death.

"Jack…your life has been, _ah,_ it's been about violence, and if you do this, then Lindsey's will be too. You want that?"

There was a moment of silence as Spencer's words seem to sink into Jack, but the older man's face didn't move a muscle as he contemplated the words. Then Ryan spoke up, is voice high, fast, and scared as he tried to talk down the man who was a single finger twitch away from killing him.

"Don't, you don't want that."

Spencer looked between the two men, trying to predict which way the tables would turn.

"When does it end, Jack?"

A moment after Spencer himself had spoken, Ryan made a last ditch attempt to save his own life, reaching out to the man standing very him with a hand only to let it fall again almost immediately.

"Put down the gun."

"_Kill him_."

Lindsey, whispering in her father's ear, acted as the devil on his shoulder. Her voice was quiet, soft, devoid of any emotion, but the quick command was enough to draw her father's attention away from his target. Spencer saw that the man was deciding his actions, and asked the question again.

"When does it stop?"

There was a choked, hitching gasp from Ryan on the ground, who could obviously see more in the older man's eyes than Spencer could from his angle, and the agent quickly glanced between the two men with growing horror before he heard Jack finally speak.

"Tomorrow."

BANG!

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Outside, the team were assembled by their vehicles, vests on and hands going to their weapons as soon as the shot was heard. At the head of the group swarming towards the building were Derek Morgan and Aaron Hotchner, and Derek led the group around the side of the building, constantly scanning their surroundings, until he reached a pair of yellow doors.

"I think it came from in here."

He heard Hotch's quick affirmation, and gave a quick scope of the entryway with his gun before reaching for the handle, pulling the door open for the rest of his team. Hotch was immediately through the doors, leading the team in with a single command.

"Go."

Derek was the last of the agents through the double doors, and he called back to the police officers as he let the door close behind him, the worry in his gut building as he thought of their young team mate still inside the building.

"Hang back, hang back!"

Hotch headed down the corridor, with Emily to his right, Rossi to his left, and JJ behind him, and Derek joined the group to bring up the rear with Mannan out to the side, all constantly scanning the area with both their eyes and their guns, trying to locate the source of the gunshot. They came up to a set of three doors, all closed but giving off a dark sense of foreboding as they moved forward. As they approached the doors, the one furthest from them opened outwards, obscuring their view of those coming through.

From through the door, Jack Vaughan appeared, his daughter clinging to one arm, and at the sight of them, his arms lifted up to hold by his head, showing himself to be unarmed.

"Whoa! Hey, hey!"

The agents lowered their weapons, and Lindsey clung around her father's middle as he was escorted back down the corridor towards the exit, Emily and JJ maintaining a grip on each arm as they went. The three remaining agents and Mannan continued on through the building, still searching for Reid and Ryan Phillips.

As they rounded the corner, they found themselves in a men's bathroom, and they could just see Reid standing beside the cubicles in front of them. He was staring at something they could not see, hidden as it was by the cubicles, and they could see only his profile, but it was enough to see that the young gent had his arms hanging limply by his sides, his face a mask of horrified confusion as he stared almost unseeing at a sight in front of him.

The agents slowed as they rounded the corner, weapons slowly lowering as they went, sure that the danger had passed due to Reid's non-defensive stance and the gunshot that had brought them running in the first place.

The sight that greeted them was not a pretty one, but after the power of the gunshot, the horror wasn't unexpected. The body of Ryan Phillips lay limp and lifeless at the end of the bathroom, his head thankfully hidden by the cubicle he had collapsed backwards into, but the blood that splattered the walls and stained the floor and the young man's clothing was a testament to the ferocity of the damage that had been caused by the shot.

Derek turned to Spencer, removing his sunglasses as he did so, seeing that the sight of the young man's death had sent the young agent into a form of shock. His face hadn't moved from the expression they had first seen when they had entered the bathroom, and he was still staring at the body as if he couldn't quite comprehend what he had seen. The look of horror was so foreign on the young genius' face that Derek had to voice his concern.

"You okay, Reid?"

Hotch and Rossi both turned to look at the youngest member of their team, wanting to see his response. When it came, his voice was quiet and stilted, like he was trying to force the words past vocal chords that didn't want to work, and his eyes deviated only once to glance at Hotch and then Dave before returning to Ryan Phillips' body.

"I tried. I tried, but I, I couldn't-"

His eyes held their disbelieving gaze as Hotch looked back towards the body, but then he lifted his attention towards Rossi as he aimed a question towards the older Italian.

"What's going to happen to Jack?"

The older man looked almost reluctant to respond, but when he did, it was with a resigned honesty, and he leveled a gaze on Hotch as he spoke, a look which their team leader returned as they contemplated the other man's possible fate.

"It depends. On how important a witness he is."

Derek turned away from the older men and looked back towards Spencer. He was back to staring at the body, his jaw almost slack as his brain still pieced together the events that had just unfolded. It pained Derek to see the usually chipper agent so desperately confused, and he laid a warm hand on his shoulder, trying to convey his support, before he and the others headed from the room, but he allowed his hand linger as long as he could, letting it slip from the young man's shoulder and across his back as he headed outside to let the girls know that Spencer was safe.

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Derek Morgan stretched his arm behind his head as he signed off on his report the following afternoon, shoulders popping as he worked out the kinks in his back from being bent over his desk for too long since the jet had touched down that morning. Looking over, he saw that Prentiss was almost finished with hers, and JJ's office was already in darkness, meaning that she had already finished and was probably on her way home.

Looking over towards the empty desk in the bullpen, Derek remembered Spencer briefly touching his shoulder as he headed towards the door earlier on, and he straightened himself slightly so that he could slide his phone from his jeans, flipping it open and going straight for his speed dial.

"You have reached the Oracle of all knowledge. It's now outside of working hours, but luckily for you, I make exceptions for luscious chocolate gods. How can I be of assistance, my love?"

Derek smiled as Penelope Garcia's bubbly voice sounded down the phone; it was difficult to feel down when speaking to his baby girl, and he hoped he was right about where Spencer had headed.

"Hey, Baby Girl, am I right in thinking you're not on your own?"

He heard the clicking of her nails as she drummed them against her desktop, but when she spoke, her voice was quieter, gentler, and he knew he'd been correct in his assumptions.

"He came down about an hour ago. He's been curled up on my couch ever since. I think it's about time he went home, chocolate thunder."

Derek nodded to himself; he'd been thinking the same thing.

"Will do, Mama, give me five minutes to pack up and hand in my report and I'll be down."

"Okie doke, Garcia out!"

Derek flicked his phone shut and stood, collecting his report up in one hand as he slipped his phone into his back pocket and swung his bag up onto his shoulder. He practically hopped up the step to the gangway and knocked on Hotch's door, waiting to be called in before he stepped in, report held in front of his chest so Hotch knew what he was there for.

Hotch was just setting the phone down into its cradle when Derek stepped in, and he gave the agent a small smile as he stepped in.

"Ready to head home?"

Derek handed over the report.

"Yeah, just wanted to check you had Reid's as well."

Hotch's eyebrow rose at the question.

"I do, but can I ask why you're checking?"

Derek carefully schooled his facial expression as he answered, and the lie rolled off his tongue easily, his easy nonchalance adding to the validity of his words.

"Sure, I'm Reid's ride to and from work at the moment because his car's in the garage. I figured it was about time the kid got to sleep in his own bed after yesterday, and just wanted to know he was all set to go."

The frown to Hotch's forehead smoothed out, and he nodded, not quite smiling but relaxed all the same, and Derek bid him goodbye as he ducked out of the office. With a wave to Emily, he headed for the door, and true to his word, two minutes later, he was standing outside Garcia's office, where she was just bustling herself out of the door. She beamed when she saw him.

"Ooh, Derek, I'm glad I bumped in to you I wanted to say bye, but I didn't think you two needed an audience in there."

Derek smiled as he hugged his best friend.

"Thanks, Baby Girl; you always know what's best."

She flicked her hair dramatically, and took a key from her key ring.

"I know. Anyway, here's my office key; I'll come by yours tomorrow or the next day and get it from you seeing as Hotch is feeling _super_ generous and giving us the weekend off. Ta ta, my sweet."

With a wave and a twirl, she was off down the hall, leaving Derek to stare after her with a mall smile before he pushed open the door to her office. Inside, all was dark, except for a small lamp that shone from the table beside the couch where a lump was lying curled up under a vibrant green afghan. The room was silent but for the hum of the computers powering down, and Derek could appreciate why Spencer sought this pace out as his haven when the job got too much on occasion. Peace and quiet, mixed with his Baby Girl's fierce protectiveness and maternal instinct made it difficult for anyone not to feel safe in the small office, and Derek knew most of the team ended up on Garcia's couch at one point or another.

Spencer's hair peeked out from the top of the blanket nest, falling in waves over the brightly coloured fabric, and Derek crossed the room quickly to lay a hand over the top of his head, gently smoothing the errant hair back from his face.

Spencer stirred under Derek's touch, and he lifted his head slightly to peek out from the blankets. Wide brown eyes met his, slightly sleepy but quickly regaining their awareness, and Derek smiled as Spencer began to push himself up to a sitting position.

"Hey, Pretty Boy. Ready to go home?"

A small smile touched Spencer's face, and he looked up at Derek through his fringe, fingers of one hand tangling in the blanket whilst the other hand reached to cover Derek's where it now sat on the cushion of the couch.

"Can we order pizza and watch movies with Clooney?"

Derek smiled down at his boyfriend.

"Of course we can. We'll order them as we leave and pick them up on the way home."

The younger man nodded as he rubbed a hand over his face, massaging the tiredness from his eyes as he did so. He looked tired. More than tired. He looked exhausted, and all Derek wanted to do was bundle him home and not let him out again for a week. But he knew he couldn't do that. Spencer would be okay, given a couple of days to get his thoughts together and think through what had happened, and if that meant lying in bed watching movies with Clooney curled over their feet and a takeaway pizza balanced on their knees then so be it.

He rested a hand against Spencer's face, framing his cheek, and the younger agent lifted his eyes to meet Derek's, a questioning look on his face.

"Spence, are you okay?"

A small but tired smile stretched across Spencer's face and he nodded, one hand lifting to rest over Derek's against his face.

"I'll be fine, given a few days. Are _you_ okay?"

Derek gave him a nod and a smile, which caused Spencer's own to grow, and they leant in gently to press their lips together in a soft, unhurried kiss. As he pulled away, Derek stood, hands outstretched to pull Spencer up with him, and whilst the young genius straightened his clothing and grabbed his bag, Derek set about refolding the afghan across the back of the sofa.

As he dropped the blanket back into place, Derek felt two arms wrap around his waist from behind, and Spencer leant against his back, his forehead pressing in between Derek's shoulder blades as he snuggled forwards. Derek set his hands over Spencer's where they were linked over the darker man's stomach and they stood like that for a moment or two before Derek turned around and pushed back from Spencer a little, but didn't break his hold.

Motioning towards the door, he took one of the younger man's hands from around his wait to hold and pushed him towards the door.

"Come on, Pretty Boy. Let's go home; Clooney's waiting."

Spencer smiled and gave him a little tug as he headed for the door.

"Yeah, home. Let's go home."

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**Hi guys! Hope you liked this little 'behind-the-scenes' one-shot taking place in Season 3 Episode 12 'Third Life'! Just my take on what I think would have gone on in the background had Spencer and Derek been an item. I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are golden! Happy reading! Xx**


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